Rev. David Holwick J Baptism service
First Baptist Church
Ledgewood, New Jersey
March 20, 2005
John 12:12-19
WELCOMING THE KING
I. Here comes the king.
A. His name is Henk Otte.
Kenk Otte is a middle-aged unemployed man on welfare in the
Netherlands.
He lives with his wife and two children in an Amsterdam
housing project and seems completely, absolutely ordinary.
And he was, at least until 1995.
That year, while visiting West Africa with his wife, his life
changed radically.
During that visit, local leaders told Otte that they believed
he was the reincarnation of their deceased tribal chief.
Following seventeen years without a leader, the Ewe tribe, made
up of more than 100,000 people, believed that Otte should
be their king.
And now he is.
In Holland he is Henk Otte.
But in Africa, he is "Togbe," or "king."
His arrival is greeted with celebration.
Throne-bearers carry him through masses of excited subjects.
Drums play, dancers spin, and the focus of all their adoration
is their king, who wears a crown and lives in a
specially-built home.
Several television documentaries have told the story of this
improbable king.
In fact, it's hard to imagine a less-likely king.
Of course there was one....
He grew up in a small town in the middle of nowhere.
He worked for years at a regular job, just like everyone else.
Then one day, about the time he was thirty, he gave up his old
job and started preaching.
He wandered all over the place preaching, even though he had
no real training.
Finally ran into some trouble with the authorities for claiming
that he was, you guessed it, a "king."
He managed to offend his own people, the local authorities,
and many more.
But on this one day, he was acclaimed as a king.
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B. The trappings of a king.
1) Donkey.
a) Used by princes and kings in Old Testament.
b) But used by average people, too.
2) Branches.
a) A nice touch, like laying your coat in a puddle for
Queen Elizabeth.
3) Hosannas.
a) Definitely shows at least some of them welcomed
Jesus as a king.
4) Loads of people.
a) Enjoyed by all politicians.
b) But does popularity guarantee legitimacy?
1> Lots of frauds have been popular.
2> Even legitimate leaders have been very unpopular.
A> Winston Churchill was voted out of office.
c) All of these things are what you would expect for a
king, but none guarantee he was in fact a king.
II. Mixed motives of the crowd.
A. Many were there for the thrill factor.
1) The miracle of Lazarus attracted the curious.
a) Celebrity was a factor even then.
2) Most saw Jesus as no more than a prophet. Matt 21:11
3) Much of the enthusiasm was the enthusiasm of a mob.
B. Some worshipped him with innocent faith.
1) Children praised him.
2) Jesus saw this as a vindication of his mission. Matt 21:16
C. A few had a deeper appreciation.
1) We know from the miracle of the loaves that many were
expecting a miracle-working Messiah to appear.
2) The disciples themselves saw Jesus as God's king for the
earth and told him so.
D. None grasped the full meaning.
1) Even his closest followers did not understand Palm Sunday
completely until after Jesus ascended into heaven.
2) It is no different for us.
a) God's ways are beyond our human comprehension, this
side of heaven.
b) There is always more to learn as a Christian.
1> Not just the facts of the Bible, but the depth
of our relationship with Christ can deepen.
2> We are all still children in our Christian walk.
III. What it means to welcome Jesus as your king.
A. More than hosannas.
1) Enthusiasm and excitement are good things.
2) But mouthing a few words is not enough.
3) An engraving from the cathedral of Lubeck, Germany,
should give us something to think about:
Thus speaketh Christ our Lord to us,
You call Me master and obey Me not,
You call Me light and see Me not,
You call Me the way and walk Me not,
You call Me the life and live Me not,
You call Me wise and follow Me not,
You call Me fair and love Me not,
You call Me rich and ask Me not,
You call Me eternal and see Me not,
If I condemn thee, blame Me not.
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B. The Lordship of Jesus.
1) Regular time with God.
a) Prayer and Bible reading.
b) Christian literature.
2) Commitment to God's people and work.
a) Church attendance.
b) Kingdom involvement.
1> Member of Hillside Lutheran calls me this week.
He wants to do something in Haiti and rally his
church to help.
His motivation: he has a young daughter and he
wants her to have a deeper faith.
2> Do something besides sitting on a padded pew.
3) Self-Control in areas of weakness.
a) Don't be lax about sin.
b) Feel guilty about something, then conquer it.
1> We will remain sinners, but defeat in any particular
area is not inevitable.
2> Seek victory!
4) Stand up for Jesus in the public square.
a) Christian faith is not a purely private faith.
b) He came to be king of this world, and one day he will
be.
c) We have a mandate from God to spread faith, love, and
justice to all the peoples on earth.
IV. Choosing your king.
Kings rise to the throne in one of three ways.
Most are born into that role, and receive it by inheritance.
Some take it by force.
But a few are made king because people decide to make them
king and serve them.
That was the case with Henk Otte.
And that is the case with Jesus Christ.
He serves as king only of those who have chosen to name him
as king.
His subjects have all chosen to let him rule.
Whom have you chosen as your king?
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SOURCES FOR ILLUSTRATIONS USED IN THIS SERMON:
#4966 "You Call Me Master And Obey Me Not," Rev. John Mac Arthur, Jr.,
from Rev. Brett Blair's Illustrations by Email,
www.sermonillustrations.com, November 21, 1999.
#7642 "Name Your King," by Mark Phillips in ChristianLOVENotes, January 26,
2000, from the Roddy Chestnut Illustration Collection.
These and 25,000 others are part of a database that can be downloaded,
absolutely free, at http://www.holwick.com/database.html
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